Moonily Talk Favorite Moons, Aliens, And Their Debut LP ‘Phase One’

by FRANK MOJICA

Los Angeles, CA dream-grunge band Moonily just released their debut LP Phase One - we talk to them about the record, their favorite moon phases, aliens, and how to make music during the apocalypse.

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Back in the brighter times of a year ago, Moonily played a couple demos for me, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how sinister their low end sounded, as if the dreamy melodies were luring me into the abyss. Fast forward to the end of 2020, and now that we are all in Hell and those demos have become cornerstones of their just-dropped debut album Phase One, the effect is akin to being pulled out of the darkness and into the light. 

Moonily started as a solo phone-recorded project by guitarist/vocalist Marissa Trujillo in 2016, but has since evolved into a trio conjuring spacey magic with Safaa Kaderi on bass and Alison Berry on drums. Hopefully you caught them shaking the walls at venues like The Hi-Hat and The Factory back when shows were still a thing. Either way, grab a drink or a smoke, throw on the headphones and let Phase One pull you to the dark side of Moonily. 

What’s your favorite album of 2020, besides yours?

Safaa Kaderi: Didn’t Kills Birds’ album come out this year? That was a good one. (editors note: late 2019) 

Marissa Trujillo: Suzie True came out not long ago. 

Alison Berry: TOPS new one is so good, super ‘80s vibes this time. I Feel Alive

How have you been staying sane in quarantine?

Safaa: Finishing the album. Mixing, working, my schedule hasn’t really changed much since I work from home, but mixing an album. And Marissa and I got into skateboarding a bit. 

Marissa: Motorcycle, shortly. 

How’s the skateboarding going?

Marissa: Really cool. You know Stephanie from Lo Haze? She started her skateboard deck company and featured me on her website, Rat Nectar, that was fun. 

Alison: I’ve been fortunate enough to be playing drums a lot. 

Safaa: Oh, we recorded a new song. 

Marissa: No one’s heard it. 2021. So that kept us sane, for sure.

How was recording the new song compared to the album?

Alison: I think because we’ve never played it live, and also, we created it together. The stuff on the album is Marissa’s songs that we contributed to, but I think Safaa and I took the lead on this one.

Marissa: Amazing, can’t wait for you to hear it. 

So that ties into my next question. What’s changed from the earliest days of Moonily to the release of Phase One?

Safaa: We’re getting more into who we are as a band. I think we want to create heavier music. Our newer stuff is more heavy compared to old recordings, but a lot!

Marissa: Definitely. I love collaborating with them. The old songs, I had everything set, but I love what they’ve done with it to make it 10 times better. 

And these are songs you’ve had as solo demos for a while before they came in and transformed them, while next year’s song is one you all conjured together?

All: Yeah. 

Safaa: We helped out with the lyrics too.

Marissa: Yeah, which was nice. 

The album is called Phase One. What’s your favorite phase of the moon? Besides full, since everyone says that.

Safaa: Aw. I think maybe new moon. Or when it’s like a sliver. 

Marissa: Our little logo on the bottom right corner of the album cover, we all have tattooed on us. 

And where do you have it tattooed on you?

Marissa: On our hands, on our fingers. Mine’s my middle finger. 

Are they all middle fingers?

Marissa: Just mine. 

Tell us more about this Moonily iconography. 

Marissa: Well, I stumbled upon it while I was making flyers back in the day, and I just fell in love with it because female, and the crescent moon was mixed in with it. 

Safaa: So, waxing crescent. 

Marissa: It’s growing, right? 

It’s waxing on, waning off. 

Marissa: Growing!

Speaking of which, did you see that crazy moon the other week with the halo?

Marissa: Yes, that was so cool. 

Safaa: The lunar eclipse? I think that was the day we decided when to release the album. The day we figured it out. 

The moon aligned for you. 

Marissa: Oh yeah, Safaa made moon water, too. 

Alison: Really? That’s so cool. 

Safaa: It tasted weird. Like a metallic taste. It didn’t taste like normal water. It was really cold. 

Since this is Phase One, any future visions of subsequent Moonily phases? What’s in store for your waxing gibbous or waning crescent phase?

Alison: I feel like we’re changing a lot. 

Marissa: We’re changing a lot. We have ideas for songs, we have very exciting things to come and show everybody. 

Alison: I think with us, phase two is something really special that we’ve really just touched base on. 

What are your biggest influences as musicians?

Safaa: Warpaint, Radiohead, for me. Blonde Redhead. 

Marissa: Chelsea Wolfe.

Safaa: Chelsea Wolfe! Oh, and Savages of course. 

Marissa: Chelsea Wolfe, for sure. She helped us with getting a little heavier, sounding fuller in sound, which is something I’ve always dreamed of being.

Where are you hoping to play the most when life returns?

Alison: Everywhere. 

Safaa: Yeah, everywhere and anywhere. We’ve always wanted to play Zebulon, but I don’t know if it’s still there. 

Alison: Zebulon closed down. 

Marissa: Echo

Alison: Oh my god, Echo Park Rising. 

Safaa: And SCSW.

Marissa: SXSW for sure. SXSW is hands down the number one. 

What’s the ideal scenario or situation for listening to Phase One? 

Alison: Probably when it’s dark outside. 

Marissa: Maybe to smoke a bit. Have a beer or wine. 

Alison: Whatever will make you relaxed.

Marissa: Lay down in bed. Very mellow setting. 

Alison: It’s funny because it’s mellow but also dark. 

Safaa: And I think with headphones too, because you can hear every little thing going on. 

If Moonily had a Tinder, what would the bio say?

Alison: Oh my gosh. 

Marissa: Great question. 

Safaa: Come moon with us? I don’t know. 

Marissa: Looking for someone to stargaze at the highest point of a mountain while drinking a beer and smoking a joint. 

Safaa: And listening to Moonily. 

Marissa: And listening to Moonily, of course. Or even going to the beach at night, anything at night when the moon is out.

Safaa: I feel like Tinder bios are so hard. Any dating bio. 

Alison: Honestly, I think if Moonily was a Tinder bio, it would just be, like, “Hot and Ready.”

Marissa: “Looking for someone to moon with.” That’s cute, cheeseball. 

What’s your sign? Individually and collectively. 

Marissa: Well, I’m Aquarius. 

Safaa: I’m Aries. 

Marissa: Safaa’s Aries, Alison’s a Cancer. So together we are…THE MOON. 

The Moon Sign?

Marissa: The Moon Sign, duh. I don’t know astrology too well. Can we just say Aquarius? 

What’s everyone’s favorite song from the record?

Marissa: Right now, I would have to say “Loveless.” It’s come a long way, that one. 

Alison: I think we’re all in love with it. 

Marissa: It used to not be as great as it is now. 

Alison: I think it’s a great one to listen to, but I think live “Bliss” is mine. 

Marissa: “Bliss” is our favorite to play live. 

Safaa: “Eli” is always fun to play live. 

Alison: I think it’s a song a lot of people like. 

I was going to ask, what’s the song people freak out to or jam the hardest to when you play live? 

Safaa: Probably “Honey Tee” or “Land Mermaid” because we came out with it last year so people know that one. 

Can you run through the history of one of your songs and how it’s changed over time as the band has grown and progressed? A run-down of a life of a song. 

Alison: “Loveless?”

Marissa: Then, I would just be on guitar and loop it, and I would switch to bass and sing with the bass. That was then. I never really had any drums to it, I would use a tambourine or something. I think I have it on my SoundCloud, the first demo. Then some drums came into it, and then I met Safaa and she picked up the bass and made it better. Then Alison came in and made the drums better, much better. 

Alison: The drumming is more magical, the cymbals are bright and light, and that’s really cool. I think it’s a fairy tale sound, a bit.

What about translating the live energy from the stage to the studio, particularly those wicked outro jams? 

Safaa: I think we didn’t know how to end a song live, and we would play until we felt it was finished. It was challenging for us, figuring out how to end these songs, they never had real endings before. 

Marissa: Closure.

Safaa: We had to sit down and literally write it out.

Alison: Marissa isn’t classically trained, so she goes by feeling, and we’ve all adapted that trait. Live, I feel like live it’s just a feeling, like feel when it should end and we’re in sync. But during the record…

Marissa: Put the feeling aside. 

Safaa: I think we’re now starting structured as we go on. 

Alison: Actually, I think it’s funny. I was watching videos of us last night because some guy took a bunch of videos of us and put them on YouTube, and we’re all looking at each other, like “Should I end now?” But that was early on, and now I think now it just happens because we feel it. 

Marissa: Now we know when. 

Safaa: And also I think we had to mature to that level, we can’t just always wing it.

Which of you is the most likely to be replaced by an alien duplicate before everyone else notices?

Marissa: Me. I do tiny little things on the guitar that ring out, and I do a lot of loops, so maybe their voice can be a pedal. 

What do you think of the conspiracy theory that we faked the moon landing? 

Safaa: Well, it’s obvious the earth is flat, so… Moon, what moon? I don’t know, I’ve never given any thought to it. 

Marissa: We’re flat earthers! 

All: *laughs*

Flat and square and on the back of a turtle in space? 

Marissa: That’s our research. 

I read it on a meme, so it has to be true. There’s a video on YouTube! 

Marissa: Oh gosh. We watched a documentary on Netflix about that, it was hilarious. 

The moon landing or flat earth? 

Marissa: Flat earth. 

Which conspiracy theory do you think is most likely to be true? 

Marissa: Aliens. 

Well, Haim Eshed, former chef of Israel’s Defense Ministry’s space directorate, recently said there’s a Galactic Federation, but they don’t think we’re ready. 

Marissa: I heard about this. 

Guess they think we’re idiots and couldn’t handle the truth. 

Marissa: I’d be so excited. Take us, our name is Moonily.

Which celebrity do you think is most likely to be a secret alien?

All: Lady Gaga.

Safaa: Oh, Melania Trump. 

I think maybe Grimes. 

Marissa: There you go. I mean, yeah, for sure. 

Alison: I’m sure a lot of celebrities are aliens. 

Marissa: Angelina Jolie, no?

What’s your new year's resolution? 

Safaa: I want to start recording an EP. We have new songs that we want to record. 

Alison: Honestly, just release this album because we need to get it out. 

Since this is Be in a Band or Die, what advice do you have for any bands starting out?

Alison: Ooh, that’s a good question. 

Marissa: Be yourself. Stand up for yourself. Don’t let anyone bring you down. 

Alison: Also, Safaa said it too. Don’t be fearful, don’t be afraid of playing. 

Marissa: Never give up. 

Safaa: And show your music to people. 

Marissa: Be open to a lot of different genres of music. 

Alison: Also, don’t be afraid to dabble in different instruments and explore your musical abilities. 

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Listen to Moonily’s debut LP Phase One and keep up with us on Instagram for more joints under the moonlight

Words by Frank Mojica

Photos by Frank Mojica, Hanna Amaaee, Anthony Bibian